Wild, confused, fissured and fuddled, and always dashing forward-this is how the music of Jim Denley and Martin NG blows against a listener. Denley and NG have been a constant presence in Sydney's small but fine improvisation scene for years. Alto saxophonist, flautist and flute deconstructor, Denley has been working (for over ten years) with 'Machine for Making Sense,' in duo with Stevie Wishart or with the international group 'Lines' (with Marcio Mattos, Phil Wachsmann, Axel Dörner and Martin Blume). As posited by Evan Parker 30 years ago, Denley has always worked hard on splintering his instrument's sound, following a sound-immanent paradigm. Like every good improviser, Denley has broken away from his immediate role models and handicaps and has his own superior approach: abrupt, harsh, sudden, attacking and always proximate to the actions of his musical colleagues.
Martin NG, an excellent music expert, but a cardiologist by profession, uses turntables and CD players on this recording. Here too, one thinks of the masters of this instrument, Christian Marclay or Rick Rue (with whom NG collaborates, by the way). Martin NG has advanced to become a cut-up virtuoso, as this duo demonstrates. Citations of other musics do not appear in the recording as memory fragments of historicity, but rather are immediate components of improvisation.
Even in the wildest turmoil he is able to create a continuity, a connection at the highest level. This is perhaps because he has recorded an extremely quiet and introverted CD with Oren Ambarchie (reconnaissance, Staubgold 2000). Or because his duo with Denley can look back upon a long productive phase of cooperation, whereas the foundation of trust rests in the constancy of permanent surprise.

  Martin Ng

  Jim Denley

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GROB323 Konk Pack - Warp Out 

Electronic musician with an interest in the DJ console and hard disk as de(compositional engines and means for nano-sonic recombinations. Current projects include:

a) a duo with guitarist Oren Ambarchi (better known for his recent Touch release 'Insulation' and as one half of the guitar-drums duo with Robbie Avenaim). A record (entitled 'Reconnaissance') has been completed and is due to be released in the near future.

b) a DJ <-> DSP duo with Hiaz Gmachl (member of Austrian electronic quartet Farmer's Manual). A live session recorded in Melbourne is due to be releases on the Mego label's online interest Fals.ch.

Previous collaborators have included Robbie Aveniam, Chris Abrahams (The Necks) and Paul Miller aka DJ Spooky.

sonic warpings of timespace and the body using: flutes, sax, voices / breath gestures / music systems / noise / amplification / multi-mics / throat mic / multi-channel projections / digital+analog manipulations / spontaneous+pre-produced composition

Jim resonates vocal/breath-gestures through instruments, exploring spacetime with complex noise. He is increasingly developing skills with computer editing, multilayering and performing with pre-recorded sonic events. He aims to go beyond instrumentalism to develop 'the Meta instrument'.

He sees no clear distinctions between his roles as instrumentalist, improviser and composer.

Member of the collective Machine for Making Sense.

He has worked in numerous add hoc ensembles throughout Austrialia, Europe and the US with musicians such as Derek Bailey, John Butcher, Roger Turner, Stsuki Okamura, Martin Klapper, Ikue Mori, Chris Abrahams and Shelley Hirsch.